It's Thursday. I'm Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what's coming up. Send comments, story ideas and events for our radar to cmartel@thehill.com, @CateMartel and on Facebook.

NEWS THIS MORNING

The death toll of Hurricane Maria is actually 20 times the official figure:

Via The New York Times's Frances Robles, the Puerto Rican government has quietly admitted that the death toll of Hurricane Maria was actually more than 1,400 people. The official death toll: 64. So the actual number is more than 20 times the official number. https://nyti.ms/2vthLyu

Keep in mind: "The government was widely criticized for undercounting the number of people who died on the island as the power outage stretched for months, causing deaths from diabetes and sepsis to soar. Many people died from lack of access to hospitals, or because there was no power to run the machines they used to breathe." https://nyti.ms/2vthLyu

Tribune Media announced it has backed out of its proposed $3.9 billion merger with Sinclair Broadcasting Group. Oh and: Tribune is filing a lawsuit against Sinclair, blaming the company for regulatory roadblocks. Keep in mind: Last month, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai (R) said he had "serious concerns" about the merger and punted the decision to an administrative judge, a move that made it highly unlikely it would ever be approved. http://bit.ly/2B2ksfg

The Trump administration lays off 40 at financial watchdog:

Via Reuters' Pete Schroeder, about 40 staff members at the Office of Financial Research have been laid off. Why: "The overhaul forms part of a broader push by the Trump administration to reduce government bureaucracy by slashing government jobs and cutting regulations." Details:https://reut.rs/2vU6QNt

LATEST WITH THE MIDTERMS

Most read -- Democrats have a smaller magic number to win the House:

Via The Hill's Scott Wong and Mike Lillis, Democrats need to a net gain of 23 seats to win the House for the first time since 2010, but the actual magic number could be much lower. Why: "Several GOP-held seats are almost certainly already in the bag, meaning Democrats likely need to take a smaller number of competitive seats -- perhaps as few as 15 -- to return to the majority for the first time since 2010." http://bit.ly/2Mg8CTp

WHY TUESDAY'S SPECIAL ELECTION IN OHIO IS TALKED ABOUT SO MUCH: Via The Hill's Lisa Hagen, "Democrats believe their performance in Tuesday's too-close-to-call special election for an Ohio congressional district is a strong sign that they can win back the House majority in November." What Dems think will happen: Based on Ohio's results, "dozens of districts where Democrats should have a better chance of taking back seats this fall than in the Ohio district, which President Trump won by 11 points in 2016 and that has been in GOP hands for more than 30 years." http://bit.ly/2OlAUcE

THE ECONOMY IS ON THE GOP'S SIDE THOUGH: Via The Hill's Niv Elis, "Democrats are flipping the script on Republicans, blaming the Trump administration's policies for lackluster wage growth as they seek to blunt any political benefits from the growing economy for the GOP." How that could play out:http://bit.ly/2KFtpLh

Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) said he will fight the charges of insider trading and that he will not step aside. Collins said: "The charges that have been levied against me are meritless. And I will mount a vigorous defense in court to clear my name. I look forward to being fully vindicated and exonerated." https://cnn.it/2vV82QR

INTERESTING TAKE: "Chris Collins is the latest example of politicians feeling invincible in the era of Trump." Analysis from The Washington Post's Amber Phillips: https://wapo.st/2Mg69bq

Noon: Former clerks of Judge Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court, talk about their time working with him during a Heritage Foundation event. Details and livestream:https://herit.ag/2OMO4At